Saturday, February 07, 2009

Wrong Number or Right Connection?

"RRRIIINNNNGGG!!!" The late night call punctuated the quiet stillness of the church office. I was working after hours trying to get caught up on a few things when the unexpected cry from Mr. Bell's tireless invention suddenly broke my concentration. Gradually, the intermittent ringing sound worked its way back from the receptionist’s desk to the sleepy receiver in my study. At first, I was going to ignore it, thinking that perhaps someone was just calling to leave a voice mail for me for the next morning. If so, the last thing they would be expecting would be for a "live" person to answer the phone. I certainly didn't want to give them a heart attack! But then again, I thought it might be Sandy trying to reach me from home. After all, she was the only one who knew I was still at work. So I picked up the receiver and here's what transpired:

“Hello.”

“Uh...yes”, came the tentative reply at the other end. “Is this Danny Davis Ministries?”

It was a woman’s voice…with a distinctly northeastern accent….perhaps from New York or New Jersey. And the call definitely sounded like it was long distance. Her opening line certainly surprised me. Danny Davis Ministries!!? I had seen that guy on the Internet before. He's a traveling evangelist based out of California, whose primary ministry focus seems to be on divine healing, kind of a big fellow with sort of a modified 1980's-style mullet haircut. But why was this lady calling me at Mount Hermon Baptist Church? And how did she get my number?

“Well, my name IS Danny Davis, but this is not Danny Davis Ministries. Were you trying to reach Danny Davis, the evangelist?”

“I need to reach Danny Davis so he can pray for me,” she said, not really responding to my question.“If you are looking for Danny Davis, the evangelist, this is not his number. But you can probably find his phone number on the Internet. I’ve seen his website before. I think it is www.dannydavisministries.com. I’m not sure, but you could do a search and easily find it.”

“Uh...OK…", she said. "I just need to get Danny Davis to pray for me.”

“Well…as I said, this is not Danny Davis Ministries…but my name is Danny Davis, and I am a pastor, and I would be glad to pray for you.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“How can I pray for you?”

“Well, my mother is in the hospital in upstate New York. And I have been very worried about her. I was asleep and I was having a very scary dream. It was a terrible dream. I was so frightened. And suddenly, I woke up and the Lord told me to call Danny Davis and have Danny Davis pray for my mother. So that’s why I called.”

“Well, let me pray for you and your mother. Do you mind if I pray with you over the phone right now?”

“Oh, that would be wonderful.”

After asking for her name as well as that of her mother, I proceeded to intercede for both women over the phone, with the long-distance caller listening intently to my petitions on her family's behalf. Following my closing “amen,” the grateful woman on the other end of the line spoke up once more:

“Oh, thank you, thank you. God bless you.”

“I’m glad I was able to be of help.”

“Oh, and I am so glad I was able to reach you. This was an answer to prayer. God told me to call Danny Davis. And God doesn’t make any mistakes.”

“No, He doesn’t, does He? I’ll continue to remember your mother in prayer.”

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About Me

I've been a pastor for over 25 years, serving churches in Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia. My wife Sandy and I were born and raised in the mountains of Appalachia, but have had the opportunity to travel and do mission work throughout the world. Since 2006, we have enjoyed living in Danville, Virginia (for the 2nd time in our lives) and serving with Mount Hermon Baptist Church.